Small Comforts
by scrambled-eggs-at-midnight
Summary: Ishizu and her new husband die, leaving their daughter in Malik's care. Not everything is how it seems, however, and Malik, with the help of Bakura, has some problems to take care of. Mostly family,slight supernatural/adventure. On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Hello. It's me, scrambled_eggs_at_midnight.

I had this idea for a fic, and it's been bouncing around in my head, so I decided to write it…let me know what you think.

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**Small Comforts**

**Written by scrambled_eggs_at_midnight**

Prologue:

_Malik was seventeen when Odion died._

_It was a year after Battle City. Everyone had such high hopes; Yami's memory had been restored, the god cards had been returned to their rightful place, and everything seemed to be going back to normal. Then came the diagnosis._

_The doctors were shocked. After all, tumors caused by electric shock were so rare, so unheard of, that they didn't know what to think. And because this particular case was apparently caused by lightening strike, during the middle of an un-predicted storm, on top of a large blimp, it became quite popular with many of Egypt's top doctors, as well as those from Japan and even America. Because of this, Odion was cured in an unusually quick amount of time. For a while, it seemed like he and his family would be able to continue living their lives. _

_And then the cancer came back again._

_And again._

_And again._

_And finally Odion's body lost the battle._

_When Malik first heard the news, he was numb. The only thoughts that were allowed in his head were those of guilt. After all, it was his fault that Odion had been hit, his fault that he was gone, that he wasn't there to protect him anymore, that he was allofasudden dead._

_Then, a year after Odion's death, when Malik was eighteen, Ishizu got married. During her work with the museum, she met a man. His name was Richard Elm. He was a nice guy, Malik thought, and he was happy for his sister._

_Nine months after the wedding, Ishizu gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She named her Holly Marie Elm, after Richard's mother, and Malik flew out to Egypt to visit and stay with them and help Ishizu while she recovered. However, Egypt held too many painful memories for Malik, and he soon returned to Japan with a promise from Richard and Ishizu that little Holly's first vacation would be to Japan to visit and stay with her uncle when she was old enough. Despite this, however, it would be four years until Malik next saw Holly._

_You see, Ishizu had gotten a phone call from the Japanese branch of the museum, saying that they would be ever so grateful if she and her family would pack their bags and move back to Domino to work full time on the Egyptian exhibit. Ishizu gladly accepted, and Malik quickly offered them a place to stay while they searched for a house and a home. They bought their tickets, packed their things, and left Egypt for ever._

_At exactly ten o'clock on a quite Saturday morning, the plane had been traveling on a steady course to Japan. It was full of normal people who lived normal lives, excited for the plane to land so they could begin the next step in their lives' journeys. At ten thirty, one of the passengers had noticed a large cloud of smoke protruding from one of the engines and had quickly alerted a flight attendant, who quickly alerted the pilot, who finally alerted the rest of the passengers, told them not to worry, and quickly prepared for an emergency landing in Tokyo. Everything seemed to be under control._

_Then the other engine died._

_At eleven o'clock, the crash was all over the news. The plane was a mess, and half of the people on board had been killed, including the pilot. Everything was in chaos, which was why Malik didn't get the phone call until noon._

_He listened to the police officer on the other end. He confirmed his relationship with Ishizu and Richard. Then he went to his room, laid down on his bed, and stared at the ceiling, listening to his thoughts play over and over, on repeat, in his head._

_In the midst of all the confusion, all the shouts, all the flames, a little girl sat quietly, just as she had been taught, trying not to cry, trying to figure out why Mommy and Daddy weren't getting up._

Chapter One:

_What people don't tell you about life_, Malik Ishtar thought, _is that it sucks_.

You came into this world kicking and screaming. You lived a short life full of dead ends and surprise turns. And when it was finally over, and you left for whatever came next, and you thought you were doing everyone a favor by finally getting out of their lives, you ended up hurting the only people you ever really cared about. But it was worse when you were the one left behind. Then you got stuck with the dead's problems, all of their unfinished business. All of their…endings.

Malik gave a small sigh and turned his attention towards the preacher, trying to find meaning in his words, but the very sound of the man's voice made him want to rip his own hair out. God, what he wouldn't give to be anyone else attending the service, anyone at all.

He looked around at all of the people, everyone he knew; Tea, crying quietly into a scrap of lace, Yami, trying to comfort her, Bakura, looking cold and impassive, Ryou, sad and troubled, everyone, everyone who he knew, everyone who didn't know him

The service ended. People walked up to him, spoke empty words, to which .he nodded and tried to smile and resisted the urge to scream.

Finally, when the last of the attendees had drifted off to some other part of the large out door park, Malik had some time alone, and he used it to look over the deceased.

Ishizu Ishtar didn't look dead, and neither did her husband. They just looked…empty.

Malik squeezed his eyes shut. It had been easier at Odion's funeral. Because Ishizu was there. He had been allowed to cry, to break down, because he knew that his sister would stay strong, like she always was, and hold him together.

Now he was alone again.

It shouldn't have mattered, really. Ishizu was just one more goddamn person to leave on his own. But that was okay. He would cope. He knew what he was doing.

Tiny white lies.

Suddenly, Malik felt a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He looked up. It was Bakura, standing with his hands in his pockets, looking at Malik with what could be interpreted as either pity or annoyance. They meant nearly the same thing to him anyway.

Malik didn't know why he put up with Bakura. The spirit was irritable, sarcastic, and generally mean spirited. Bakura didn't know why he even bothered with Malik. The kid had just too many problems. But then again, so did he. They stuck together simply because all evidence pointed towards the fact that the world was against them.

Malik nodded slowly at Bakura, wondering what exactly could be defined as "okay."

Bakura looked at him oddly, probably sensing that he was lying, but didn't say anything. "Okay, great, because I think you're about to have some company."

Bakura gave a side long glance at a tall business-y looking man in a suit who had spotted them and was beginning to make his way over to the caskets. Bakura gave him another pointed look and slipped off to the side, leaving Malik to deal with the man.

"Hello. My name is Jeffery Smith, and I am Ishizu and Richard's lawyer.

"As you know, before they died, Richard and Ishizu had a daughter named Holly Marie Elm."

Malik nodded. He had only met his niece once, when she was first born, and all he remembered of her was her bright eyes and dark hair, making her look remarkably like her mother.

"As you also know," Jeffery continued, "Richard never had any siblings, and his parents are both dead, making you Holly's closest relative."

Malik nodded again, wondering where Jeffery was going with this.

"Mr. Ishtar, would you be willing to take into custody your niece Holly Marie Elm?"

Malik stopped nodding. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that last bit?"

Jeffery sighed. "Holly is only four years old; it's either you or an orphanage."

Suddenly Malik felt dizzy. "Could I have some time to think about this?" he asked weakly.

As Jeffery walked away, Malik sand down onto the grass. He hadn't been expecting this. Dear god, if he had been expecting anything, it wasn't this. And yet…

"So? What did mister lawyer want?" Malik looked up as Bakura plopped down next to him. "Are you getting sued?"

"Do you think I could be a parent?"

Bakura choked. "Shit, did you get someone pregnant?"

"No. Jeffery wants me to adopt my niece."

Bakura thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose you could. Mind, I don't see why you'd want to. It can't be any fun."

"Yes, but it's either me or an orphanage. I definitely don't want the kid to end up there."

Bakura was quiet, thinking. Then, "It might be good for you, you know. Help get rid of some of your guilt."

"Guilt?"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "I know you, Malik. I also know that you blame yourself for what happened. I can read it, plain as day, when you look at them."

Malik swallowed. Bakura was right. He did blame himself. Now, it was time to repay his sister for everything she had ever done when they were children. It had been too damn long already.

"Mr. Jeffery?" Malik called out, "I've made my decision."

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There. I hope you liked. I don't know when chapter two will be up, probably some time soon because I already have it typed out. Drop a review on your way out!

-Love forever, eggy


	2. Chapter 2

My goodness, I'm just full of updates tonight, aren't I?

Don't worry, Drabbles will go on as usual, and no, I don't mean with it's infrequent updates. *pouts.* Reviewers get cookies.

Chapter 2

Holly arrived at Malik's apartment on a warm sunny afternoon in early June.

When Malik first opened the door and saw the little girl standing in front of him, clutching her teddy bear, he felt a surge of apprehension. Could he really take care of this child? Did he really know what he was doing?

Holly was ushered into the apartment by a short plump woman with graying hair. As soon as she was inside, she turned to Malik. "My name is Mrs. Peirce." Mrs. Peirce said. "I've been Holly's care giver for these past few weeks, I've had eight children of my own, and I am telling you now, if anything happens to this child, you will me personally to answer to."

She looked such an imposing figure, with her flyaway hair and strong posture that Malik quickly found himself nodding and swearing on his life to take perfect care of the little four year old standing solemnly in front of them. Speaking of which…

"Erm, hi there."

"Hello."

"Are you Holly?"

"Yes. Are you my uncle Malik?

"Just call me Malik," he said, ignoring the disapproving look from Mrs. Peirce. "I have to be honest with you; I don't really know what I'm doing. Which means you'll have to help me out, okay?"

Holly nodded slowly, surveying the apartment with wary eyes. Malik knew the feeling; he remembered when he had first moved here from Egypt. Everything had seemed so foreign to him. Of course, he hadn't been able to ask for help; it wouldn't have been good to show weakness in front of his Rare Hunters. He wondered where Holly had learned to speak Japanese, but answered his own question; of course her mother would have taught her daughter her second language. If Ishizu had lived, the child probably would have known how to speak half of the world's dialogue by the time she was twelve. Malik himself could fluently speak English, Japanese and Arabic, as well as three dead languages. (Although he couldn't really remember Latin.)

"Come on Holly, and I'll show you your new room."

After a quick tour of the small apartment, just as Malik was running out of things to say, the door bell rang.

"Uh, hold on a second, let me get that." Malik left Mrs. Peirce with Holly and went to answer the door.

It was Bakura.

"Hello Malik. I've come to see your newest problem."

Malik rolled his eyes. "Her name is Holly, and she's a girl, not a problem."

Bakura shrugged. "Suit yourself. May I come in?" He grinned, letting Malik know that he really didn't care what the answer was.

"All right, fine, but behave yourself. There's this lady here and she's…"

Bakura brushed past him and surveyed the scene. "Hello, kid. Ma'am." H raised an eyebrow at Mrs. Peirce. She glared at him. "Malik, who is _this_ young man?" She eyed Bakura like he was something nasty on her shoe. "I don't recall you mentioning him."

"Oh, yeah. Mrs. Peirce, this is my…friend Bakura. Bakura, this is Mrs. Peirce and Holly."

Holly gazed up at Bakura with wide green eyes. "Why does he look funny?"

Malik blinked. "Holly, that's really not-." But Bakura stopped him. "Wait." He knelt down in front of Holly. "Exactly what's so funny looking about me?"

Holly tilted her head to the side. "You don't glow."

Bakura froze. "I don't…what?"

"Glow."

"Malik, can I talk to you for a minute outside."

Malik glanced at Mrs. Peirce, who was eyeing them suspiciously. "Can't it wait until…"

"_Now_."

Malik turned to the care giver. "Uh, do you think you could…"

Mrs. Peirce stopped him with a hand. "I will watch Holly. You have five minutes."

"Right."

Malik and Bakura stepped into the hallway. "Alright, Bakura, what is it?"

Bakura turned to face him. "Did you hear what that kid said?"

Malik chuckled. "Yeah, she called you funny looking. What do you want me to do, discipline her? Because I must say, I sort of agree with her."

Bakura waved him off. "She said I didn't glow, Malik. _Glow_."

Malik was getting impatient. "All right, great, but I don't see what this has to do with anything; no body glows. It's a fact of life in case you were wondering."

"The kid can read auras Malik."

"What?"

"Auras, Malik, auras. Everyone has one." He hesitated. "Everyone living, that is."

Malik frowned. "Wait, back up; Holly can read auras?"

Bakura shrugged. "Well, I'm not sure if she can read them, but she certainly can see them."

"Then how come she can't see yours?"

"Because I don't have one," Bakura replied simply. "I'm not actually living, remember? I'm just a weird copy of Ryou."

Malik took a moment to digest this. Then,

"Is this…a bad thing?"

Bakura thought for a minute. "I'm not really sure. That's why I want to spend some more time with the kid. You know, see what else she can do."

Malik sighed and ran a hand through is hair. "Alright, fine. But if you hurt her-."

Bakura threw back his head and laughed. "Don't worry. I won't harm your little burden." And then he left.

Malik watched him walk away, then turned and re-entered the apartment. As soon as he walked through the door, Mrs. Peirce turned on him.

"Alright, I've made a list of numbers where you can reach me," she said primly. "I'll be over at six thirty sharp tomorrow morning." (Malik sighed, remembering that he had to go to work tomorrow. Mrs. Peirce was going to baby sit Holly during the day while he was gone.)

"Take good care of Holly, and keep an eye on that…_friend_ of yours."

Then she left as well.

Malik looked at Holly, who was sitting at the kitchen table.

"Well," he asked, "What shall we do first?"

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Well, that's chappie number two. Hope you liked.

Review, pretty please? Thank you?

Love always, Eggy


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, I'm back with chapter three. Thanks for sticking around.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and/or favorited. You guys make me smile.

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Chapter 3

Despite Malik's worries and apprehensions, his first week with Holly went quite well. Each day, he got up in the morning, got ready for work, and waited for Mrs. Peirce, who in turn would ring the doorbell, come inside, and begin preparing Holly's breakfast. Then Malik would say good bye, walk out the door, and start heading to the museum.

Malik, following his sister's death, had taken over the exhibit on Ancient Egypt at the Domino Museum. Mostly he gave tours, answered questions, and, of course, translated any un-readable material found by archeologists on their digs. It wasn't a very exciting job, though, and Malik was mostly bored during the day, but it paid well, and the hours weren't too long, which by itself was a good thing. After all, he needed all the extra time he could get these days, since Holly was definitely a handful.

When he came he came home every day, Malik's newest charge was waiting for him. Sometimes she would be sitting on a kitchen chair, kicking her heels. Others she would be watching television. No matter what she was doing, however, Holly would leap up as soon as soon as her caretaker walked in the door. Slowly but surely, the two of them began to develop a sort of bond, a mutual agreement to each other cope with all of the hard things life had thrown at them.

Each day, Holly had something new to show him, and Malik soon found that she was a very creative child. She loved to experiment with the things around her, and didn't seem to mind not having any friends her age. As for Malik, he saw more of Ishizu in his niece every day, with her long black hair and bright eyes, and for some reason this comforted him. Still, nothing could change the fact that Holly was not your average toddler. Malik, for one, would probably never forget the weekend they went to the zoo.

The two of them were wandering through the zoo, and Malik was trying to teach Holly the names of the animals. She was actually doing quite well, and everything was going great.

Until, of course, Holly started talking to invisible people.

They were watching the monkeys swinging in their cage when Holly turned her face up to the sky, a serious expression on her face, and said, "I don't know if monkeys can talk. Do you want me to ask them for you?"

Malik, of course, was rather unnerved and quickly asked, "Who are you talking to?"

Holly pointed to the sky. "There's a little girl up there. She wants to know if monkeys talk."

Malik wasn't too worried at first. He had been told that a lot of children had imaginary friends, and that it was best to just go along with it. "Tell your friend that monkeys defiantly can't talk."

Holly nodded. She turned to her "friend." "Did you hear that? They can't talk." Then, "You're welcome."

She continued to talk to this imaginary person, and Malik found it kind of cute, until Holly called out, "Hi, Mommy! Look Malik, it's Mommy!"

Malik whipped his head around. "What!?"

Holly pointed to the sky. "There! Look, she's waving! Hi!"

Malik grabbed Holly's hand. "Come on, we've got to go now." They left quickly, Holly waving behind her all the way.

As soon as they got home, Malik called Bakura. "Alright, you, explain this."

"_Relax Malik. My guess is that the kid can see spirits. It's really not that uncommon."_

"Spirits? As in ghosts?"

"_Yes. Why are you freaking out?"_

"Hello!? The kid is seeing ghosts! That's not normal!"

"So? Neither is Holly."

"Bakura! This is serious!"

"In case you've forgotten, you and I have had plenty of experiences with ghosts and spirits. Maybe not the same _kind, _but you get my drift. If it makes you feel any better, I'll look into it for you. I don't know what good it's going to do, though. It's not going to stop the sightings."

So Malik let it go, but continued to be watchful of his niece. In his mind, one insane psychotic melt down in the family was enough. They didn't both need to be crazy.

Bakura stayed true to his word and visited every day, usually sitting silently in a chair, watching and observing. Sometimes, he would take Holly out for a walk in the park or around the subdivision, asking her questions about the people around them, having her tell him the strength or color of their auras, and teaching her what they meant. However,

it was only after Holly's third week in Japan that she began to actually trust the man she thought of as "Malik's weird friend."

It was a cold rainy day, and Holly had been indoors all morning. She was restless, and bored, and her little face had been pulled into a frown when Malik came home from work.

No amount of cajoling or prompting from Mrs. Perice had brightened her mood, and the stout little nanny had shaken her head at Malik as she went home for the night. "I don't know what this child wants right now, but we're certainly not it."

Then, around six o'clock, Bakura showed up.

He stomped inside, shivering and cursing the bad weather. "Honestly, why does it _always start raining_ just as I leave the house?" Then he spotted Holly, sulking in a corner. "What's wrong with the kid?"

Malik shrugged in exasperation. "I don't know, he said, "she's been like this all day. I've tried everything!"

Bakura thought for a moment, then turned to Holly. "Alright, what's wrong?"

"Holly's bored."

"Why?"

"Nothing to do. Holly wants to play outside."

"Come here. And don't talk like that. Pronouns are your friends."

Holly slid out of her chair and came to sit obediently on the couch next to Bakura. "What's a pro-non?"

"_Pronoun. _It's a part of speech."

"Oh. What's a-."

"No more questions. Now, listen closely. I'm going to tell you a story. You like stories, right?"

Holly nodded. "What kind of story?"

"Well, it's about a group of people who lived a long time ago, way before you were born…"

And so Bakura began to tell Holly of life in ancient Egypt, telling her of the kings and peasants alike, so that she hung on his every word, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

Malik listened too, surprised. Bakura never told stories. Ever. It just wasn't in him to entertain children. Still, he seemed to be enjoying himself, and Holly was definitely not bored anymore, caught up in an unknown world of magic and shadows.

From that day on, six o'clock was "story time." Bakura always had some new tale to tell, and Malik enjoyed listening to them as much as Holly.

That was why it was such a problem when, one day towards the end of the month, Bakura didn't show up.

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I'll leave you here for now. Make sure to come back next time!

Your friend, Eggy


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everyone!

Finally, finally, finally: an update. I'm so sorry that it has taken this long; I had major writer's block. I hope everyone had a great holiday, and Happy New Year to you all. *^^*

I'm thinking of doing a drabble for the New Year, but that might have to wait until tomorrow. Thanks for your patience.

Here's Chapter Four!

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Chapter 4

"Holly, it's nine o'clock. You really have to come to bed now."

"But Bakura's not here yet!"

Malik sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Holly was perched on a stool near the living room window. None of his efforts, nor those of Mrs. Pierce, who had left for home ages ago, had been able to make her budge. "Look, Holly, I just don't think Bakura can make it tonight."

Holly's lower lip wobbled and her eyes filled with tears. Malik groaned. "Please don't cry, Holly, come on. I'll let you stay up ten more minutes, okay? Then you've gotta go to bed."

Holly took one last long look out the window, then looked up at Malik with baleful eyes. "What if something's not okay?"

Trust the kid to picture the worst. "Look, this is Bakura we're talking about. I'm sure he'll be just fine."

Just then, the phone rang, and Malik left Holly and went to answer it.

"Hello?"

"_Malik? It's Bakura."_

"Well, it's about time! Do you know how far past this kid's bedtime it is?"

"_Malik...."_

"I mean, really, if you weren't planning on coming, you at least could have called sooner!"

"_Malik...."_

"Honestly, Bakura, I knew you were a jackass, but seriously…."

"_Malik!"_

"What?"

"_Look, I need you to take Holly and get out of that apartment. You can go to Ryou's house, that kid is a total insomniac, he never sleeps."_

"Have you lost your fucking mind? Why the hell would I want to do that? It's way past Holly's bedtime, and…."

"_Malik, this is important. Just leave, okay? I'll explain later."_

Bakura cut the line, and Malik swore. _Just my luck; he's gone psycho on me. Again._

Malik turned to Holly, debating whether or not he should just ignore Bakura and go to sleep. Still….

"Come on, Holly, get your coat. We're gonna go visit Ryou."

Fifteen minutes later, Malik arrived at Ryou's house and gently lifted a sleeping Holly from the sidecar of his motorbike. _I should really think about getting an actual car, _he thought as he carried her to the house.

Malik rang the door bell, and Ryou answered in surprise.

"Hey, Ryou," he said. "How's life?"

"Hi Malik. What's going on?"

Malik thought for a minute, then said, "That is a really good question."

Ryou let Malik inside, listened as he explained Bakura's phone call, and quickly agreed to let Malik and Holly stay until Bakura showed up and explained just what the hell was going on.

They didn't have long to wait.

"Ryou, open the goddamn door!"

Malik looked at Ryou, who shrugged and got up to answer to Bakura's insistent pounding.

The door slammed open, and Malik could see that it was pouring rain outside. Bakura came in, dripping wet and swearing.

"See, I told you!" he snapped. "Every time I try to leave this bloody house, it ends up pouring rain!"

He noticed Malik sitting on the couch. "Well, at least you listened to me. Where's the kid?"

"I put her in the bedroom. She fell asleep on the way here. Now start talking. What the hell is going on?"

Bakura sighed and sat down. "It's a little complicated."

Malik fold his arms in a "start talking now or I'm going to hit you" sort of way.

"We've got a bit of a problem," said Bakura.

"Spit it out already, will you? It's not like we have all…."

"Marik's back."

Silence. Then…

"He's what?"

"Back. I don't know how and I don't know why, but I kicked you out of your apartment because I figured that was the first place he'd go if he was looking for you."

The room was spinning. _No. No way. Not again. Never again. I want nothing to do with him ever again._

"How do you know?" It was his last hope. "Did you see him?"

"Yes. Actually, he tried to kill me in a dark alley, but that's beside the point."

Malik choked and started to say something, but Bakura waved him down. "I'm fine, he didn't even touch me."

"Yeah, we can see that, but how could he try to kill you? He's a disembodied spirit, remember?"

"Well, spirits usually are, but there's just one problem with that theory: he's not a spirit anymore."

_Wait, what?_

Malik gaped. "What the hell do you mean, he's not a spirit? You mean he has a body? How is that even possible?"

Bakura sighed. "This is a shot in the dark, but I'm guessing he's using the same method as me."

Malik narrowed his eyes. "Explain, please."

"Well, obviously I'm not sharing a body with Ryou anymore, right? Remember when I first showed up?"

Malik grinned and nodded. Ryou had called him at two o'clock in the morning last year, yelling that Bakura was back and begging him to come over and help him figure out what to do. Malik had agreed to help, and eventually Bakura and Ryou had reached some sort of truce; Bakura wouldn't try to kill Ryou's friends, and Ryou would keep the pharaoh, who, for some reason, was back as well, from murdering Bakura. (They decided that the return had to do with the millennium items; Ryou and Yugi had both chosen to keep theirs; Malik had wanted nothing to do with the rod, which was currently sitting in Domino's World History Museum.) So far, the arrangement was working quite well.

"Anyway," Bakura continued, "I think that Marik managed to find a way out of the Shadow Realm, then came and stole the rod. I'm pretty sure that's what is allowing him to have a body—that shadow magic. Come to think of it, the same thing is probably working for the pharaoh and me; haven't you noticed that we're not corporeal unless we have our Millennium items?"

Malik nodded, trying to process all of this new information. Then Ryou spoke up from the corner where he had been sitting unnoticed.

"If Marik _has_ found a portal out of the realm," he said hesitantly, "I don't think Malik and Holly should go home yet. Marik might be waiting for them." He turned to Malik. "Why don't you two stay here tonight?"

Malik nodded. "I guess we could do that. I wouldn't want to move Holly anyway; she was up way to late. Thanks."

As Ryou went to go lock the front door, Malik buried his head in his hands. _This wasn't supposed to happen. Marik was supposed to _stay _trapped. And how did he get into the museum to steal the rod? How long are we supposed to stay at Ryou's house? How am I supposed to go to work?_ An endless amount of questions worked their way through Malik's head as he drifted off to sleep.

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Once again, happy Last Day of December and 2009. I hope you all have a fantastic New Year. Hopefully Chapter Five will come a lot faster than this one did!

-Your forever, Eggy.


	5. Chapter 5

Grr! Stupid, stupid computer.

Once again, we had a problem with this darned machine, and I ended up getting the un-edited version of this chapter, which was filled with stupid grammar and spelling mistakes. Because my beta is much better than that, this has been re- posted. Don't worry though. Nothing has changed.

* * *

_It was dark._

_The room- no, more like corridor- was large and airy; that much he knew. He couldn't see. He could _feel _the presence of the walls, but he couldn't touch them._

"_What am I supposed to do," he thought, "If I don't know where I'm going?"_

_To his immense surprise, the exact words that had been running through his head materialized in front of him. They then re-arranged themselves into a much longer sentence than could have been made with such few words. _

_Before he could read the words above his head, however, they exploded. _

_He raised his arms to shield his eyes from the light, but, to his surprise, there was none. Instead, the words had condensed themselves into a single small ball, close enough to touch. He reached out his hand, but the ball zoomed backwards, causing him to stagger._

_As he watched in astonishment, the ball began to float backwards, almost as if beckoning him to follow, going faster and faster until he had to practically run to keep up. _

"_Where are you taking me?" he shouted, but the words were swallowed up by the pressing silence of the hall. He could hear his own footsteps pounding._

_Without warning, the ball stopped. _

_He looked around, trying to figure out why they were no longer moving. Then the ball began to grow. It grew and grew, until it was the size of a small opening. _

"_A door," he thought. And sure enough, a handle materialized on what could only be described as the portal, and it became a door._

_He took a deep breath, then reached out and grasped the handle. He opened the door._

_And he screamed._

* * *

Malik woke up in a cold sweat.

_That,_ he thought with a grimace, _was the worst dream I have had in a long time. And the worst part is, I can't even remember what scared me._

He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and looked around him. To his relief, nothing had changed. He was still on the same couch in Ryou's living room, which looked exactly as it had when he first fell asleep.

_So it was just a dream. No shadow magic. No Marik...._

He shuddered, and tried to think of something else. Like that dream….

_What the heck was that all about, anyway? Was it, like, a vision, or something? Or did I just eat something bad before bed? Maybe I'm just being paranoid._

_Still, what if it _was_ something important? What if there's something important behind that door, and I'm supposed to go get it? I wish I could remember what I saw that was so terrifying. I wish Ishizu was here; she'd know what to do._

He sighed. _I really miss you, sister. Why'd you have to leave? I had just gotten you back. Stupid plane. Stupid gods. Do you guys hate me, or something?_

_Okay, that was bad. I'm sorry. Please don't smite me._

_I really should go back to sleep. God only knows what Bakura's got planned for tomorrow. He'll probably have us running all over town, trying to find Marik. Damn it, what am I going to do with Mrs. Peirce? She'll be heading over at seven...._

So Malik busied himself with making phone calls and arrangements, first calling Mrs. Peirce, who was none too pleased to be woken up, and then the museum, telling them that he was finally going to use one of his sick days and refrain from coming in to work.

All too soon, however, he was done, and now he had nothing to do but try and sleep.

He rolled over, trying to get more comfortable, but he soon found that going to sleep wasn't going to be as easy as he would have hoped. Still, he managed to dose off, more or less, and he almost did drift off.

The only thing that stopped him was the scared little voice in the dark.

"Malik?"

Malik sat up groggily. "Wha-? Who's there?" Then he frowned. _Wait a minute._ "Holly, is that you?"

A pause. "Yes."

Malik peered into the darkness. "What are you doing up?"

Another pause. Then, "I had a bad dream."

Malik sighed. "Come here, Holly."

Holly walked over to him slowly, clutching her teddy bear. Malik picked her up and put her next to him on the couch. "Now tell me what happened."

Holly sniffed and snuggled closer to him. "I was on the big plane with Mommy and Daddy. Then everybody started screaming, 'cause it was going down, and Mommy said to me, 'Be a good little girl for your uncle, an' I love you.'" Holly was sobbing now. "An' then Daddy hugged me, and the plane crashed, and I was all by myself, an' I was waiting for you to come get me, but you didn't come an' I was all alone. I don't wanna be alone."

She buried her face in his shirt, crying, and Malik stared at her in shock. _So that's her biggest fear. That's what scares her the most. Being alone. _He could relate. He had been alone most of his life, but at least he'd had Ishizu and Odion. Holly didn't have anyone.

_Scratch that. She's got me._

"Oh, Holly," he whispered, and held her close. "I promise," he said, meaning every word, "I promise I'll always come for you, okay? No matter what, and you'll never ever be alone again. Hear me?"

Holly managed a small smile. "Okay."

"Good. Now come on, lets get to sleep."

"I love you, Malik."

"I love you too, Holly. I love you too."

* * *

Blech. Sap.

Just kidding. It was fun to write. And no, I promise this wasn't _all _filler. ;)

Love you lots,

-Eggy


	6. Chapter 6

Whoo-hoo! I finally got my lazy butt up and wrote this chapter! Honestly, I've been spending more time learning how to snowboard than I have writing. Sorry. *^^*

Anyway, I have just a few quick things.

First, thanks as always to my beta, whom I couldn't live without.

Also, I have a message for you from an author who is having some problems with plagiarism. Wanna know the message? DON'T DO IT! It's stupid, and it's not fair to other authors.

Finally, I'm stuck in rut with the Drabbles, so I have no idea when that'll be updated next.

Now that that's all done….

* * *

Chapter Six

"Good morning, everyone!"

Malik groaned. The sun was just rising over the buildings of Domino as Ryou walked in into the room, telling them all to wake up.

"Rise and shine!" he called. "It's the perfect day for hunting evil psychopaths, so let's get moving! Who knows," he joked, "Maybe you can manage be up in time for breakfast." Malik was not amused.

"What do you mean, 'good morning?'" he grumbled, clinging to the pillow. "The words 'good' and 'morning' don't even belong in the same sentence."

Ryou chuckled and threw open the curtains, filling the room with light. "You really aren't a morning person, are you?"

Malik ignored him and rolled off the couch.

"Ow! Malik, you landed on me!"

Malik looked down, and sure enough, he had landed right on Holly.

"Oops. Sorry, kid." He smiled at her, remembering their conversation from the previous night. _She really is just like her mother...._

Holly wiggled out from under him and ran across the room. "I'm gonna go wake up Bakura!"

Malik waved to her as she ran out of the living room, then turned to Ryou. "So, what was that about breakfast?"

Twenty minutes later, the two of them were sitting at the kitchen table with coffee and toast, making plans for the day ahead.

"I was thinking you and Holly should stay here for the rest of the day," Ryou said. "I mean, it kind of defeats the purpose if we have you out there wandering around in plain sight."

Malik shook his head. "That's not going to work, Ryou. We'll be sitting ducks. And there's no way I'm letting you and Bakura get murdered in a dark alley because you're trying to help me."

Ryou sighed. "All right, fine. But do you really think it would be a good idea to bring Holly out there?"

"Hmm. I hadn't thought of that," Malik said with a frown. "Someone has to stay here then."

Their conversation was interrupted by an ecstatic looking Holly, and a very grumpy Bakura.

"Look, I did it!" Holly squealed. "I woke up Bakura! Now we're all here!"

Bakura sat down at the table, glaring daggers. "Malik, I am going to kill you, I really am. What in Hell's name did you feed this child? Candy? Ice cream? Cookies? _Anything remotely sugary?"_

Malik grinned. "I didn't feed her anything," he said. "She's a four-year-old."

Holly beamed and held up three fingers. "I'm gonna be five in this many months."

Ryou smiled and picked her up. "Well, Holly, that's great. I would have guessed you were already six. Now, why don't you sit down with us now and have breakfast, okay?"

Holly smiled. "Okay. Can I have jelly on my toast?"

"Of course you can," Ryou said, placing her on a chair. Then he looked at Malik. "What?"

Malik stared. "Okay, I'm going to give you thirty seconds to tell me who that is and what you've done with my niece. She _never_ sits at the table when _I _tell her to. Heck, she doesn't even_ sit. _ You got her down in three seconds flat." He leaned forward. "Now spill."

Ryou just shrugged. "Maybe she's just trying to be polite, or-"

"Who cares?" Bakura cut in. "I thought we were supposed to be figuring out what we're going to do about Marik."

Malik rolled his eyes and looked at Ryou. "Well, we were thinking that instead of having_ him _find _us, _we should go out and look for him."

Bakura choked on his coffee. "What!? That is the stupidest idea you've ever had, Malik. I thought the point was to keep everyone _alive._"

"Yeah, and how are we supposed to keep people alive if Marik is out there _killing_ them?"

The two glared at each other, and Malik tried as hard as he could to not hit Bakura. (It wasn't easy.) _I swear, if he's going to be like this.... _

Finally, Ryou broke the silence.

"Malik's right, Bakura," he said quietly. "If we don't find him, he'll find us, and it probably won't be at a time we're ready for him."

Bakura looked at him for a long time, and Malik had the uncomfortable feeling that they were sharing far more than could be said by words. Then Bakura nodded. "All right."

Malik shook off the feeling. _Focus... this is Holly's safety— not to mention your own— that we're talking about. _"Great. Now all we have to do is figure out who's going to go find him."

Bakura shrugged. "That shouldn't be too hard," he said. "You and I go find Marik, Ryou stays here and watches the kid."

Malik frowned and Ryou looked confused. Bakura scoffed. "Are you kidding me?" he said. "Don't you two pay attention at all?"

When neither of them answered, he rolled his eyes. "Okay, so Malik created Marik, right? So it's obvious that the two of them are going to share _some _sort of connection, which gives us a huge advantage in finding him."

Malik raised an eyebrow. _What the heck is he talking about?_ "But if that's true, how come I can't feel this 'connection' now?"

Bakura gave him a look. "Maybe you're too far away right now. Use your head, Malik." He gestured to himself and Ryou. "While we don't share a body anymore, I can still _feel _what he's feeling if I pay attention. I'm going to guess it's the same with you and Marik."

He grinned. "That's why one of us has to stay with the kid, in case something goes wrong and we need to get back in touch, and I sure as hell am not going to stay here and babysit."

Malik bit his lip. It did make sense, but.... "What if something happens while we're gone?" he asked. "I really don't want to get you guys hurt, and—" Ryou laid a hand on his arm. "Malik, we want to help. And don't pretend you can do it on your own, because we all know you can't."

Malik felt himself smile. "Well, okay. I guess you're right. I can't do this by myself, and I suppose you guys are the most qualified to help me." He grinned with a sudden thought. "Unless, of course, you count the pharaoh... maybe we can get him to help us."

Holly yelped as Bakura tipped backwards out of his chair and onto the floor. Malik just laughed.

Several hours later, Malik and Bakura were heading out the door, and Ryou, standing next to Holly, was giving them some last minute instructions.

"All right, so I printed you a map off of Google, but I really don't know if it will help you much. Try not to draw too much attention to yourselves. If anything goes wrong, call me."

Malik nodded and turned to Holly. "I'll see you later, okay, kiddo? Try not to give Ryou any trouble. I'll be back soon."

Holly smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be a good girl. I'll even eat all of my green vegetables at lunch." She reached out and gave him a hug. "Come back soon, okay?"

Malik patted her on the head. _She'll be fine. I know she'll be fine. So why do I have this feeling...? _"I'll be home as soon as I can." He wanted to say something else, but then Bakura was pulling him out the door, and it was too late, so he took a deep breath and looked at their map. He chose a direction at random and started to walk. Bakura hurried to catch up to him.

"Okay," he said, "Let's try your apartment. I bet you anything it's the first place he'd go to."

They walked in silence for a moment, each lost in his own thoughts. For some reason, Malik couldn't shake the feeling that they were doing this wrong, all wrong, and something horrible was going to happen. _But that doesn't make any sense. How would Marik know we're staying at Ryou's? It's not like we ever interacted much during Battle City . Unless he's been watching us. _He shuddered at the thought, and Bakura looked at him.

"You know, I've been wondering something," he said. "Why do you call him Marik?"

Malik frowned. "I never really thought about that. I guess…." He tried to think of a reason. Then one came to him.

"When I first… _created _him, I didn't really know what he was. I was only ten, after all," he said. "So I called him 'Marik,' because it sounded sort of like _my_ name, and I wanted someone who was like me, who I could relate to. I wanted a friend." He laughed nervously. "I know it sounds kind of silly, but I wasn't exactly a normal child. I think I was a little bit messed up in the head."

Bakura grinned. "Was? Hell, you still _are _messed up." Still, he looked thoughtful. "Come on, we're almost there."

When they arrived at the apartment, Malik knew right away something had happened.

He turned to Bakura, whose expression pretty much conveyed the same feeling.

Malik pulled out his key. "Shall we have a look?" he asked. Without bothering to wait for an answer, he opened the door.

The place was trashed.

Books were lying open, clothes were strewn across the floor, and almost every piece of furniture in the house was upended.

Malik walked through the apartment, slightly dazed. _I didn't think it would be this bad, _he thought. _What the hell was Marik looking for?_

He turned to Bakura to ask the same question, but Bakura wasn't paying any attention. He looked… confused.

"Bakura? Bakura? What's wrong, and why aren't you—"

"Malik, I can't feel him."

"What?"

Bakura took a deep breath. "I can't feel Ryou's presence. Nothing. It's just _not there_." A look of understanding, and then horror, crossed his face. "Oh, _shit." _He grabbed Malik by the wrist and pulled him out of the apartment, running at full speed. "Ohshitohshitoh_shit."_

Malik ran with him, trying to keep up. "What? For the love of all that is holy, Bakura, tell me _what the fuck is wrong!_"

"He's there, Malik. He's at the house right now. We missed him, and now he's got Ryou and the kid, and if we don't get there in the next thirty seconds they're screwed."

"What!?" _Oh no. No. Not Holly. Not Ryou. I knew something was going to happen, and I ignored it and now it's all my fault. I swear, if they're okay, I'll do anything. Anything, you hear that, you stupid gods?_

Then he couldn't think anymore, because he had to put all of his energy into running.

They reached the house, and, just like he had with the apartment, Malik knew that everything was all wrong.

The door was flung wide open. _No, Ryou never leaves the door open, never, he doesn't even leave it unlocked, he's too afraid of burglars._

The worst part, however, was the silence.

Bakura stopped running, and Malik almost crashed into him. Together, they walked slowly inside.

It was a repeat of the apartment. Everything was everywhere, and they had to be careful walking so they wouldn't fall and break their necks.

"Search the house," Bakura said hoarsely. "Look for clues."

They spent fifteen minutes scouring the rooms, with no luck at all.

Malik was just about to give up hope, when he heard Bakura call, "Malik? Come here for a minute."

Malik swallowed and obeyed.

Bakura was standing in the middle of the room previously inhabited by Holly. He looked at Malik when he entered. In his hand was a small piece of paper. "I found it on her bed," he said quietly, and handed it over.

It was a note. Malik read it slowly.

_Hello._

_I have what you love most. If you want it back, you're going to have to come and get it. I'll see you in the shadows._

_-Marik._

.............................................................................................................................................Wow, six whole pages on Word! *gasp* That's a lot for me!

Now that we're getting into _actual plot_ the chapters should be getting longer. Just a heads up.

Now, just click on that little white and green button below this message and leave a review, and we should be all set. X)

Love you f'rever!

-Eggy


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Love! I give you all oodles of love! Now read on!**

* * *

Malik sat alone on the living room floor. "_Gone,"_ he thought. "_They're both gone_, a_nd it's all my fault."_

Bakura watched him from the kitchen, a bored look on his face. It was obvious he was getting impatient, but Malik didn't really care. All he knew was that he had screwed up. Again. _"Why?" _ he asked himself. "_Why can't I do anything right?"_

Bakura cleared his throat. "If you're done moping," he said, "then we might want to start thinking of a way to get back Ryou and the kid." Malik looked at him incredulously.

"What the heck are you talking about?" he asked, thinking maybe Bakura had gone crazy and forgotten exactly what had happened. "In case you hadn't noticed, they're_ gone._ Marik took them. We don't even know where he went. What do you expect us to do, run out the door and call the police?" Malik put his head in his hands. "We're royally screwed, Bakura."

When Bakura didn't answer, Malik looked up. To his surprise, Bakura was laughing.

"That's rich," he chuckled. "Who are you, and what have you done with Malik?"

Malik frowned. "What the hell are you talking about, Bakura?"

Bakura stopped laughing, and smiled. "Well, you see," he began slowly, speaking as he would to a small child, "the Malik Ishtar _I _knew wouldn't just be sitting here whining. He'd be out doing something useful."

Malik narrowed his eyes. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?" he asked, getting to his feet.

Bakura sneered at him. "It means you're acting like the stupid mortal you are," he said. "And here I thought you had guts."

Malik could feel his hands shaking with anger. "_What the hell does he know?" _he thought, clenching his fists.

"Why don't you just give up, Malik?" Bakura asked, his voice dripping with disdain. "Why don't you just abandon your four-year-old niece? Leave her with the insane murderer who may or may not want nothing more than to kill her? And forget about Ryou, who obviously doesn't matter enough to you that you'd want to save him from the mess that _you_ got him into in the first place. Face it, Malik," Bakura drawled, "you're just weak."

Malik couldn't help it. He was mad. He wasn't thinking straight. And before he even knew what he was doing, he had reached out and slapped Bakura as hard as he could across the face.

Bakura fell back against the wall, and Malik glared at him. "_That'll teach you, you stupid, conceited, egotistical...." _ Malik stopped his inner rant when he realized… something was wrong. Bakura was rubbing his cheek where he had been hit, and the look on his face was one of pure triumph. He grinned up at Malik. "Damn, but you can hit hard," he said.

Malik stared at him, confused. "What—?

Bakura pushed himself up off the wall. "Tell me, Malik—did the stuff I say to you piss you off?"

Malik glared. "Yes, actually. What kind of a person would I be if I just gave up on—" he froze when the realization of what just happened suddenly dawned on him. "You set me up!"

Bakura must have seen the look on Malik's face, because he laughed. "It worked, didn't it?" he asked. "You've realized how utterly pathetic you were being, right?"

Malik didn't know whether to hug him or slap him again. "You… you…."

Bakura shook his head. "Stuttering doesn't become you, Malik. Now, are we going to get Holly and Ryou back?"

Malik shut his mouth and managed a small smile. "We've gotten this far, haven't we?"

Bakura's grin was positively cat-like as he held up the Millennium Ring. "Then let's get started.

In theory, Malik and Bakura should have been able to summon the shadows right to Ryou's living room, using the Ring. Then, they could have used the Ring's ability to sense other Millennium objects to locate Marik and his Millennium Rod.

In practice, it was a bit more complicated.

"Why the hell isn't this working?" Bakura asked through clenched teeth, sweat pouring down his face. He was clutching the Ring in both hands, and it seemed to Malik that if Bakura held on to it any tighter, he was going to snap it in half.

The two were in the middle of trying to enter the Shadow Realm, but the shadows themselves were much more reluctant to come forth and allow them entrance. They had been at it for hours, and it was obvious that the effort was starting to take a toll on Bakura—he definitely did not look his best. Then Malik had an idea.

"Bakura," he said from his position on the couch, "what if Marik is purposely trying to block us out?"

Bakura lost what little concentration he had left and turned to Malik. "What?"

Malik stared thoughtfully at the Ring in Bakura's hand. "What if," he said slowly, "…what if Marik doesn't want us to get in?"

Bakura sat down on the couch, exhausted. "But that doesn't make any sense," he said, frowning, "because he practically left us exact directions saying, 'hey, come here and rescue these people so I can kill you!' Why would he try to block us out?"

"Maybe he wants to make it difficult for us," Malik mused. "I mean, the guy's twisted, remember? He probably thinks it's hilarious to watch us struggle."

Bakura sighed. "In that case, I'd bet anything that he left a window open for us to sneak in."

Malik nodded. "Now we just have to find it."

Bakura put his head in his hands. "Let's see…" he mumbled. He closed his eyes, and Malik watched him, bemused. _"What is he—?"_

Bakura's head snapped up. "That way," he said, pointing to the left. Malik followed him out of the room. "How do you know?"

Bakura held up the Ring. "It can sense other Objects, remember? I just told it to look for the Millennium Rod—its presence should be leaking out of whichever hole Marik left open for us to squeeze through.

Malik nodded, impressed. "Neat. So, where was the signal coming from?" Bakura stopped walking. "Right here."

Malik had to hand it to his darker half; the guy sure knew how to make things interesting.

The "hole" was in Holly's bedroom.

Bakura didn't allow Malik time to get sentimental. He immediately walked to the center of the room and, and Malik was rather exasperated to see that his old energy had already returned. _"It's like he's a rechargeable battery…."_

"All right," Bakura said, catching Malik's attention, "I don't know how much wiggle room Marik left us, so we're going to have to do this exactly right—that means no shortcuts." He glanced at Malik. "Come here."

Malik obediently stepped next to Bakura, and the ring started to glow. Malik closed his eyes, waiting for the familiar sensation of darkness to come rushing over them.

Then Malik heard a shout, saw a flash of something brighter than normal light ever was, and Bakura was yelling at him to grab on to him and not let go no matter what. Malik felt a jerking sensation near his hand, where he was gripping on to Bakura's arm, but he held on tight, and finally it was over, and they landed in a heap on what felt like solid ground.

Malik stood up and looked around, blinking. "Whoa," he whispered. "That's a bit of a change."

The Shadow Realm didn't look anything like Malik remembered it. It was darker, for one, and there were walls, going on forever, each one covered in a million different doors.

Also, the Shadow Realm was full of people.

Malik heard a groan, and Bakura sat up next to him, rubbing his head. "That," he said, "did not go as planned."

Malik helped pull him to his feet and cocked an eyebrow. "So, Bakura," he said as casually as possible, "exactly what happened there?"

Bakura scowled. "Marik happened. The bastard tried to lock us out as we were entering— I think he was trying to get us suspended in some sort of limbo, trapping us between this world and ours."

Malik grimaced. That sounded bad. "So, now what?" he asked. "And why is everything so different?"

Bakura chuckled. "Malik, did you forget where we are? The Shadow Realm is endless. There are different parts of it that even I haven't seen yet. Unfortunately for us, Marik seems to have picked the most confusing… _room_, I suppose you'd call it, that he could find to deposit us in."

Malik nodded glumly. "I know. Look at all these doors. How the heck are we supposed to know which one leads to Marik?"

Bakura shook his head in mock disgust. "My goodness, Malik," he said, "Your memory is bad." He grinned and held up the Millennium Ring. "Have we forgotten about this already?" He began to walk along the corridor, holding the Ring out to each door, and Malik ran to catch up with him.

"Just one question," he said, looking at Bakura. "Why are all these people here?"

"Hm?" Bakura looked up from the Ring. "Oh. The people." He glanced over his shoulder. "My theory is that this is the room most souls are deposited in when they first arrive in this lovely place." He gestured to the moaning, crying people surrounding them. "Look at them," he said, "they're all different. You can practically tell the ones who have been here a long time."

Malik nodded and looked at the people—_souls_—with interest. Bakura was right. Some of them were plump and scared-looking. Others were thin and tired. And a lot of them were sort of _translucent_. It was almost as if they weren't there. "What about those people?" he asked, pointing.

Bakura slapped Malik's finger down. "It's rude to point," he said, grinning devilishly. Then his face lost its humor. "Those are the souls that have been here longer than you could possibly imagine," he said quietly.

Malik looked at their wraith-like forms, their sunken, lifeless, haunted eyes, and shuddered.

Finally, after what seemed to Malik like hours of walking, Bakura stopped. "Here," he said, pausing in front of a particular door. "This is the one."

Malik walked over to the door and examined it. "Hmm," he said, frowning. "This door doesn't _look_ very special. Are you sure this is it?"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't judge by appearance, Malik." He grinned. "I mean, look at you." Malik followed him into through the door, wondering if he was supposed to be offended and resisting the urge to reply with something equally snarky.

The room behind the door was less than remarkable. From what Malik could tell, it looked like—

"A graveyard?"

Bakura stepped farther into the room. As soon as he was out of the doorway, it vanished, leaving them without an exit.

"_Oh, great," _Malik thought, rubbing his neck, _"Now we're totally trapped." _

"I don't get it," he said. "Wasn't this door was supposed to take us to Marik?"

Bakura shook his head in disgust. "I should have known," he mumbled.

"Known what?" Malik said, starting to get really sick of turning to Bakura for answers.

"Know that Marik would try to make this difficult," Bakura growled. "It looks like we have a bit more work cut out for us, Malik."

Malik sighed and shrugged. "Well, it's not like we have much of a choice." He gestured toward the many graves. "Shall we continue?"

Bakura grinned. "After you."

As they walked through the graves, Malik couldn't help but feel that they weren't exactly alone. It wasn't until several minutes in, however that he began to hear the music.

"Bakura?" Malik said hesitantly, "Can you hear that? It sounds like…."

"A funeral march," Bakura finished grimly. "We're interrupting something."

That's when they saw the people.

There was a whole group of them, and Malik could tell instantly that they were in the middle of a ceremony. He and Bakura watched in silence as a woman broke away from the crowd, weeping.

She knelt down on the grass, her hand passing lightly over the coffin lying in the center of the burial area. She bowed her head and her mouth began to move silently, whispering words that only she could hear.

"Do you think that's her husband?" Malik said quietly. Bakura shrugged.

Slowly, from beneath her coat, the maybe-widow drew out a single red rose. Almost as if on cue, the rest of the people in the cemetery produced roses of their own, and each person slowly walked up to the crying woman and handed his rose to her.

Malik and Bakura watched, feeling frozen in time, as the woman slowly collected enough roses to form a large bouquet. She held it in front of her as two men lowered the coffin into the grave, then she gently tossed the roses in with it.

Malik broke out of his stupor when he felt someone moving next to him. He glanced over at Bakura, who was tapping his foot impatiently.

"All right, let's go," he said when he saw Malik looking at him. "I've had just about enough of this." He started forward, but Malik grabbed his arm.

"I don't know, Bakura," he said, looking at the funeral party uneasily. "Maybe this is something we shouldn't interrupt."

Bakura snorted. "Malik, in case you hadn't noticed, we're running on a very fast clock. We don't have time to wait around for these people. Do you know how long funerals usually last?"

Malik scowled at him. "Yeah, I do, thanks." He gestured to the crowd of people. "Another think I know about funerals is that it's not polite to disrupt them."

Bakura waved Malik's hand away. "Forget it—I'm heading out. If you want to wait for Jim Bob to get in the ground, go ahead. I'll see you later."

Bakura started walking, and Malik ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He couldn't very well let Bakura walk away. He started running to catch up. "Hey, Bakura!" he yelled, "Wait up!"

Every head in the cemetery turned their way. Malik skidded to a halt beside Bakura, who grinned at him. "Not much in the mood for subtlety, then, Malik?" he whispered.

"Shut up, Bakura," Malik breathed, looking at the crowd. The mourning woman had stood up, and she seemed angry. "I think we just made a huge mistake."

Without warning, the woman let out a scream.

Instant chaos ensued. The mourners in the cemetery answered the woman's cries, and the entire group charged at Malik and Bakura. The woman continued to scream, high and long and loud.

Bakura swore and grabbed Malik. "Run!" he yelled, and they took off.

The people were faster than they looked, however, because soon they were practically on top of them, and Malik was repulsed by what he saw.

The faces of the people were not normal. Malik could see the flesh slipping from their bones, the maggots and worms in their hair. Several of them were missing eyes and limbs.

"Bakura! Bakura, they're not... they have… they're…" he couldn't seem to get the words out.

"They're zombies," Bakura said. "And they're mad." As he spoke, the first zombie—a man, Malik thought, judging from the suit—lunged and grabbed his arm. Bakura responded by swinging it around and smashing it into the next creature.

Following his lead, Malik grabbed the nearest two zombies and smashed their heads together, wincing at the resounding _crack! _their skulls made.

Suddenly, something was grabbing him from behind, and Malik yelped at the feeling of its peeling flesh. He looked behind him in horror to see the woman from the grave.

Malik struggled, but the woman's hold was vice-like and he couldn't free himself as she started to pull. _"It's like she's trying to drag me underground with her!"_ he thought in panic, and it was true; the woman was slowly sinking into the ground, still screaming, and Malik was being pulled down with her. _"This is it," _he thought. "_This is how I'm going to die." _ He squeezed his eyes shut, and….

_CRACK!_

Malik didn't bother to wait for an explanation when the woman's grip suddenly slackened. He just wrenched himself free. The woman's screams grew louder, heightening to an unbearable volume, and Malik fell to the ground, covering his ears, until it suddenly stopped and everything was silent.

Malik got unsteadily to his feet, gasping for breath. Standing before him was Bakura, holding the woman's severed head in his hands.

Malik resisted the urge to be violently sick and stared at the body laying, still part-way underground, at his feet. "Did you—did you just rip her head off?"

Bakura nodded, unconcerned. "No, I politely asked if I could have it," he said sarcastically. "She was the leader, apparently, because the rest of them disappeared when I killed her."

Malik looked around, glad to look at anything but that severed head or the dead body, and realized Bakura was right—there wasn't another person in sight.

Bakura, oblivious to Malik's discomfort, tossed the head aside casually. "So," he said, "shall we continue?"

Malik nodded, and followed Bakura toward the gate marking the end of the graveyard, leaving the young widow lying on the ground, her dead husband still asleep in his grave.

* * *

**Everything's better with zombies!**

**Many thanks to my reviewers, whom I love, my beta, who puts up with me, and the ****Trans-Siberian Orchestra****, whose song, "The Lion's Roar," somehow managed to inspire the majority of this chapter, even though it has no actual lyrics. **

**Reviews are made of love!**

**-Eggy**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: From this little piece of (really bad) fanfiction, we have learned three things. They are as follows:**

**One: Eggy **_**can**_** write non-humor stuff.**

**Two: Eggy **_**can**_** write plot.**

**Three: Eggy absolutely **_**cannot**_** do both at once.**

**I'm sorry, guys. I seriously am. I'm gone for months, then I come back and hit you with **_**this**_**. If it's any consolation, I've been beating myself over the head for ages trying to get something done for this fic, and I think I have permanent brain damage. So, if anyone actually still cares about this piece of… whatever it is, here's Chapter Eight.**

"Bakura, I think we're lost."

"Shut up, Malik. I know exactly where we are."

"Then why does it seem like we've been walking around in circles for the past hour?"

"... I said shut up."

Malik sighed. "We are lost, aren't we?"

Bakura finally stopped walking and glared at the Millennium Ring lying, seemingly innocent, in his hands. "I don't understand it!" he said, shaking it. "Why won't this blasted thing work?"

Malik shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking pointedly at the no-longer-glowing Ring that they had been following ever since leaving the graveyard sometime back. "I'd bet my life it's because of Marik."

Bakura snorted. "Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. He's probably sending out conflicting patterns through the shadows to try and confuse us as we speak." He made a face. "I hate to say it, but it's pretty much working. What we really need to do is find a way to block him out of our signal."

Malik frowned. "Can we do that?"

Bakura shrugged. "Maybe. We know he has more power here than we do, but I might be able to put up a sort of shield to cut off the false signals he's been sending us." He glanced at Malik. "Of course, it'll probably leave me pretty drained. You're going to have to be in charge of navigation for a while.

Malik nodded. "Okay. What do I have to do?"

"Just hold on to the Ring. It'll tell you where to go."

"Do you still have it tracking the Rod?" Malik asked, taking the Ring in his hands. It was heavier than it should have been, even for something made of pure gold, he noticed, and cold.

"Yes, but the connection is a lot fainter than it was, which means Marik isn't using it right now."

"That's a relief."

"Not necessarily. Think of what else he could be doing. While you're thinking, be quiet. I need to concentrate."

Bakura closed his eyes, and Malik waited impatiently while the spirit muttered something under his breath. Suddenly, he felt the Ring lurch within the grip of his fingers. Looking down, Malik saw it shining brightly once again, its light piercing the shadows surrounding them and casting an eerie glow about his hands. He spared a quick glance at Bakura, whose quick nod confirmed that they were indeed being pointed in the right direction.

Malik looked back down at the Ring and took a cautious step forward. The Ring responded by jerking once again in his hand, causing him to stumble.

"It's a little difficult at first," Bakura said, as if reading Malik's mind. "You get used to it after a while."

"Yeah, and how long does that usually take?" Malik tried to keep the Ring from flying out of his hands. "Five thousand years?"

Still, he straightened up and took another step. If Bakura could do this, so could he, and Malik would be damned before he'd let this stupid piece of metal get the better of him.

Tightening his grip on the Ring, Malik began to walk; by following the signals it sent shooting up his arm, he could pretty much be sure he was going the right way, but he soon found himself wishing that there was another way to do this. The sensation wasn't exactly unpleasant, but Malik could definitely think of other things that would feel a lot better, especially because the Ring didn't seem to want to make things easier for them. Every once in a while it would go completely limp, forcing them to waste precious minutes waiting for Bakura to re-establish their connection. It was almost like trying to get cell phone service in a completely uninhabited area, Malik thought, only with ancient Egyptian artifacts.

...All right, maybe that wasn't the best comparison, but Malik couldn't think of anything better, and he was tired, dammit.

The task was taking its toll on Bakura, too. More than once Malik had to reach out and keep his companion from collapsing when the Ring gave an especially violent lurch, causing them both to stumble each time something stronger managed to wrench through their weak connection. Finally, they were forced stop and rest when Bakura declared that there was just no way he could go any farther without taking some sort of break.

"This is a lot harder than it usually is," he muttered, sitting down next to Malik on the ground. "I don't think I've felt this numb since Marik's attack during Battle City .

Malik winced. "I remember that. It was definitely not pleasant."

Bakura leaned back and closed his eyes. "I still remember every second of that blasted duel. It was actually pretty fun, up until the end." He smirked. "Yes, those were the good old days, back before all of this saving people shit. Back when we were the bad guys."

Malik found himself nodding. "It sure was easier that way. And a lot different. Not that I'd go back or anything," he said hastily.

Bakura chucked. "That's right, you're reformed now," he said, opening one eye. "Tell me, what's that like for you?"

Malik hesitated. "Well," he said, "I'm... happy, I guess. I mean, I have Holly now, so it's not like I'm bored or anything."

Bakura sighed. "I am. Hell, this is the most excitement I've had in my life in ages."

Malik gaped at him. "Excitement? Bakura, we could be killed!"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "I never said I was having a picnic here. I'm just saying it's a lot more interesting than thinking up ways to torture the Pharaoh's brat without actually hurting him. I mean, there are only so times I can send someone to the Shadow Realm without pissing off someone stronger than me."

Malik opened his mouth to comment on that, but suddenly stopped, noticing something. In the few minutes he and Bakura had been conversing, something about the shadows had changed. "Bakura," he began, "do you—"

But apparently Bakura had noticed it, too, because he was already standing, eyes narrowed. "Something's wrong," he said. "There's someone coming."

Malik picked himself up off the ground and went to stand next to Bakura. The two of them peered out into the shadows, which had begun to stir and churn, looking for any sign of movement that might indicate another presence.

Slowly, the mist in front of them began to part, and a figure gradually began to emerge from the darkness. As it grew larger, more defined, Malik suddenly tensed, inhaling sharply.

Stepping out of the shadows, a smile on her face, was Ishizu Ishtar.

"Hello, Malik," she said softly. "I missed you."

Malik said nothing. He couldn't. Too many thoughts and emotions were rising to the surface, threatening to bubble over and make him explode. _"How are you here? What are you doing? Do you know where Holly and Ryou are? Do you know about Marik?" _But he couldn't say a word. After all, what exactly do you say to someone who's supposed to be dead?

"What are you doing here?" he finally choked out. "You're... you and Richard... how did you...?"

Ishizu laughed. Malik had forgotten how much he'd missed that sound. "Eloquent as always, Brother." She turned to Bakura. "And you," she said, raising an eyebrow. "The last time I saw you was during Battle City . I hope you're not here to cause trouble."

"No, he's helping me," Malik said quickly. "But, Sister..."

Ishizu sighed. "Yes, I suppose I have some explaining to do, don't I? Very well.

"I knew immediately when Holly had been taken, because I had been watching over the two of you for some time. I... felt that it was necessary."

Malik frowned. "Wait, so that time in the zoo..."

"Yes, Holly really did see me. It's amazing how much she's grown in such a short time," Ishizu said, and something that Malik couldn't quite place flicked across her face. He reached out and put what he hoped was a comforting hand on her arm. "She's exactly like you, you know," he said softly. Ishizu smiled at him.

"Look, as much as I hate to break this up, we really need to be going," Bakura cut in. "Ishizu, do you know where Marik is holding Holly and Ryou hostage?"

Ishizu's face darkened. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I was just there. I, however, don't have the power to free them. I spoke to Holly, and told her that you... you were on your way." Her voice suddenly broke, and Malik looked up in horror to see that she was crying.

"I— come on, Sister, don't cry!" he said, wrapping his arm around her, practically feeling the panic cross his own features. "We'll get her back, and Ryou! Come on, Ishizu." He threw Bakura a pleading look, but the spirit just shrugged. Dammit, Malik thought, he was no good at this. He had enough trouble trying to comfort Holly when she fell and scraped her knee. And Ishizu had always been so strong...

"I'm sorry," Ishizu said finally, wiping her eyes and giving her brother a watery smile. "I'm just a bit shaken. Really, though, Bakura's right." She gently shrugged off Malik's arm and straightened her shoulders. "I don't plan on leaving my daughter with that _abomination_ any longer than I have to."

Bakura turned to Malik, holding out his hand for the Ring. Relived, Malik handed it over, glad to be rid of the unwelcome tingling in his arms. "Why does it do that?" he asked, rubbing his fingers. "I can barely feel my hand!"

Bakura chuckled. "Because it's my Ring, idiot," he said, slipping the cord around his neck. "It's directly connected to me, and it doesn't take kindly to someone else holding it."

"…That's just inconvenient."

"I didn't make the rules, did I? Now, shut up and let my Ring tell us which direction we should be walking."

Ishizu shook her head and held out her hands. "We're not walking. Both of you are going to have to hold on to me for this to work."

Bakura sighed audibly, and Malik looked at him before obediently grabbing his sister's hand. "What?"

"Shadow teleportation," Bakura said by way of answer, gingerly taking Ishizu's other hand.

"Shadow what?"

"Teleportation," Ishizu said. "You honestly didn't expect us to walk, did you?"

"I would have used it in the first place," Bakura said, "but it's so damn draining that I didn't want to risk it. How exactly do you plan on doing this without an Item, Ishizu?"

"I'm a ghost, Bakura," Ishizu said. "The Shadow Realm and I are _part_ of each other— I think I can manage. Now hold tight, both of you."

She closed her eyes, and Malik felt a sudden jerk rip through his body. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling Ishizu's hand tighten briefly around his own before letting go as they came to a complete stop.

"Well, that was fast," Bakura said. Malik didn't bother replying—he was too busy trying not to throw up.

"Next time," he said finally, "why don't we walk?"

Bakura's laugh held no humor. "What, and have Marik open up some giant pit right under our feet for us to fall into? I think not."

Malik shuddered, imagining the result of falling into a Marik-induced hole. "Good point." He turned to Ishizu. "Okay, Sis, where to next?"

"Marik is hiding Ryou and Holly somewhere around here. Bakura, see if you can still pick up the signal from the Millennium Rod."

Bakura nodded and pointed towards his left. "It seems to be coming from somewhere over there."

Malik looked at where he was pointing and tried his very hardest not to roll his eyes. "Seriously? Gee, that's original."

The space Bakura was pointing at resembled a filmmaker's idea of a black hole. From where Malik was standing, it seemed at least eight feet wide. "So, into the swirling black Vortex of Doom?"

"It appears so," Bakura said. "You didn't happen to bring a flashlight, did you?"

"Nope, sorry. We're going to have to do this completely in the dark."

Ishizu started to walk. "Come on, you two. We don't want to keep Marik waiting."

"Yes, actually, we do," Bakura muttered. "I'm in absolutely no hurry to meet him any time soon."

"Do you have much of a choice?"

"…Shut up, Malik."

With that, the three of them turned around, faced the portal, and walked in to whatever challenge Marik had for them next.

**Review, please?**

**With love, always and forever because you guys are way cooler than I could ever hope to be,**

**-Eggy**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: You guys are just too nice to me. My beta's computer decided to die on her and delay this even more than my stuff's usually delayed. I'm sorry! Please don't kill me!**

**In other news, has anyone else noticed how terrible the writing/grammar is in the first few chapters? That's what I get for going beta-less. I should probably go and edit, but my life is being eaten by school. Sorry! Again. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Yu-Gi-Oh**__**!**_** or its original characters. **

In Malik's mind, the day had been absolutely nothing but walking. That and a whole lot of pitch-blackness. He was starting to get rather sick of it as he and his companions trudged down the seemingly-endless hallway that Bakura had dubbed, in a moment of exhausted brilliance, "The Evil Portal of Evilness." The longer he stumbled over broken stones and what he presumed to be loose tiles, the more Malik agreed with the name.

"Is it just me, or have we been walking for a lot longer than we should have?" Malik asked. He barely repressed a curse as he stubbed his toe—yet again—on something sticking up out of the floor. _It's like being back in that bloody tomb, _he thought, scowling and kicking a few rocks out of the way. _Why is it that my life seems to be stuck in an infinitely repeating loop lately? _

Bakura snorted. "Next time, we take the long way. Whose idea was this, again?"

"I think it might have been yours, actually."

"Ha! What do you take me for, Malik? A child in a horror movie? Everyone knows that you just don't go down the creepy dark tunnel, especially if there's a psychotic mass-murderer at the end."

Malik sighed internally. He really wasn't in the mood to get into an arguing match with Bakura. The conversations always ended up going in circles, anyway.

But... he _was_ pretty bored.

"Been keeping up with modern television, have you?" Malik said, throwing a glance behind him to see if he could make out Bakura through the gloom. "Or are you talking from experience?"

Ishizu's voice drifted back to them from somewhere up ahead. "Don't make me come back there, boys," she warned. "I just might have to— wait, hold on a moment."

Ishizu stopped suddenly, and Malik and Bakura both managed to misjudge the space between her and themselves. Malik bit back a yelp of surprise as they simultaneously crashed into her. Malik stumbled to keep his footing and grabbed on to Bakura to keep himself from pitching sideways.

"What the hell was that for?" Bakura snapped when they were finally stable again,

shoving Malik off of him. "I almost fell over!"

"You didn't have to shove me, bastard," Malik replied.

"I'm sure you'll both live," Ishizu said.

"You're not the one who has to worry about living, are you?" said Bakura, and Malik could just _hear_ the scowl in his voice. "I still don't see why I can't have my Ring out. It would make navigating this pathetic excuse for a tunnel so much easier. At the very least, we'd be able to see."

Ishizu sighed. "I already told you, Bakura. Marik's Rod can sense the Items as well, remember?"

"You'll basically be holding up a sign that says, 'Here we are, you can come kill us now!'" Malik said.

"I don't care. I'd love an excuse to meet Marik right now. I'm starting to get incredibly sick of this wild goose chase he's leading us on. Forget Shadow Magic; I'm ready to kill him with my bare hands."

"What did we stop for, Ishizu?" Malik said hurriedly, deciding that it would be a bad idea to encourage Bakura right now.

"I'm sensing a ... presence, coming from somewhere up ahead. I can't tell if it's dangerous or not."

"Is it Marik?" Malik asked, dreading the answer. He knew it was silly, since Marik was the one they were supposed to be looking for anyway, but that didn't mean he was successful in repressing a shudder every time the bastard was mentioned.

"No." Ishizu said. "It's someone unfamiliar." Her expression went dark. "I'd know if it was him."

"So... what do we do?" Malik asked.

"We keep going, of course," Bakura said, and Malik could just picture the eye-roll that went with the statement. "It's not like we have much of a choice."

"...Didn't you say the same thing about the Swirling Vortex of Doom?"

"How many times am I going to have to tell you to shut up, Malik?"

"Is this what you two were like during Battle City?" Ishizu asked, starting to walk again. "If so, I can see why you lost as horribly as you did."

"Not nice, sis," Malik said.

Ishizu just smiled sweetly at him. "What, I'm not allowed to tease my baby brother anymore?"

Malik was spared from answering when Bakura cleared his throat in annoyance. "Excuse me for interrupting," he said, "but I thought that we were supposed to be getting somewhere."

"Ah, yes. My apologies. Bakura, please take out your Millennium Ring," Ishizu said.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to."

"Don't be difficult, Bakura," Malik said. "You sound like a whiny little kid."

"Fine," Bakura huffed. "But if we get caught, it's not my fault."

The walls of the tunnel lit up suddenly as Bakura pulled the Ring out from under his shirt. He stepped around Ishizu and Malik so that the light would be in front. Malik scanned the walls slowly, taking in as much of his surroundings as he could. The light gleamed off of the damp, cracked stone, highlighting the chips and bumps, but there still wasn't nearly enough to make out anything more._ Even with the Ring, it's still dark, _Malik thought. _I wonder why..._

There was something nagging at the back of his mind, something he couldn't quite place...

_I've been here before._

Malik stopped, confused. _Where did that thought come from?_ He peered further into the gloom, trying to bring up the memory.

It all came back to him at once.

He let out an "Oh!"

Ishizu turned around. "Malik? What's-?"

Malik brushed past her, taking in the room around them. _It's the hallway. The hallway from my dream._

That dream, the one he had had a million years ago, when he was back sleeping on Ryou's couch. _I knew it, I knew that dream meant something!_ _ What if this hallway leads me to Holly?_

Malik trailed his fingers along the corridor wall, feeling the worn stone. He walked faster down the hallway, an excitement he couldn't quite place growing inside him. "I know where we are!" he said, turning to Ishizu and Bakura, who both had looks of bewilderment on their faces. "We have to go this way. There's something at the end, a door..." He was running now, not pausing to check if Ishizu and Bakura were following him. He whipped around a corner-

-and suddenly it was there, looming in front of them: a large, ornate door, exactly the one from his dream, covered in what Malik recognized from years and years of unwanted study as ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Behind him, Bakura and Ishizu skidded to a stop, panting.

"Malik, what the hell is going on?" Bakura asked, doubled over. "Where-?" he stopped suddenly, whistling when he saw the door. "Damn. I haven't seen anything like this since I was back in ancient Egypt. It certainly brings back memories." His face was slightly bitter.

"Care to elaborate?" Malik asked.

"Not in the slightest."

"Do you really know where we are, Malik?" Ishizu asked.

Malik turned to her. "Back before Holly got captured, I had a dream about this exact same place. It had the carvings and everything." He paused. "Except... I'm not actually sure where it leads."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Typical. So, I'm guessing we're going in?"

Malik could only nod, filled with a sudden apprehension. What of there was something waiting for them wherever this doorway led, some new trap set up by Marik...?

No, that was silly. They'd faced zombies, for crying out loud! How much longer could Marik possibly plan to drag this out?

Actually, knowing Marik... Malik shook off the thought.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Bakura said impatiently, grabbing the handle. "I'm really getting sick of this whole damn adventure; let's get this over with."

Before anyone could protest, he gave the door a shove, and it creaked open slowly, leaving the three of them standing in the doorway. Malik took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes nothing." He stepped through the doorway. Then he stopped, and stared at the spectacle he found.

It was a ballroom. Pillars stood tall and proud against the walls, holding up a magnificently painted ceiling. Seraphim peered down from the painted heavens, positioned as if to watch the dancers currently gliding across the marble floor, oblivious to the underdressed strangers who had just entered their midst. The men and women were silent except for the gentle clicking of their shoes as they dipped and spun. Off in the corner, a small orchestra played a melody that floated gently through the room, so very different than any soundtrack Malik would have expected Marik to set this adventure to.

"Holy Ra," Bakura breathed. His eyes flicked back and forth across the room as if he were trying to memorize every detail in one second.

Malik could only gape. "What the heck is Marik thinking...?"

In the center of the room, Malik noticed, hovering just above the dancers, was a large, glowing ball of what could only be light. It pulsed in time to the music, and over the tune Malik could faintly hear it buzzing, like a giant swarm of bees trying to call him from across the room. He was so tempted to go toward it...

Whoa. Where did that thought come from?

"Did that appear in your dream, too, Malik?"

Malik jumped and looked at Ishizu, who was standing next to him. "Well, kind of," he said, looking at the scene around him. "But from what I remember, that" he gestured vaguely at the glowing ball of light, "that thing came before the door. It actually kind of led to it." He didn't mention the sentence that the ball had formed from, the sentence that he'd never had a chance to properly read. Perhaps now was his chance to solve at least one of the mysteries that had been plaguing him since Holly's capture.

_Well, what are you waiting for? _he asked himself. _You know what you have to do._

Malik took a cautious step forward, blinking in bemusement as the dancers parted to let him pass. As he walked, Malik was able to get a closer look at the people and noticed that they were all wearing masks.

_Huh. A masquerade. Marik always did like to hide until the last minute._

Malik filed that bit of information away as he reached the center of the ball room. As he stretched out his hand to touch the orb, a sudden thought flashed through his mind. _Something's going to happen now._

As soon as his fingers made contact with the glowing, pulsing sphere, it exploded.

Malik shouted in surprise and jumped, quickly yanking back his hand. He squeezed his eyes shut against the light, then forced himself to open them again so he wouldn't miss a thing. Who knew what was going to be important later?

The light seemed to be reaching out to all parts of the room, warming the faces of the oblivious dancers and reflecting sharply off the glass walls. Malik watched as it flashed around the room like fireworks before finally collecting into one mass of energy and popping out with one final spark.

As a fine sheen of shiny dust settled around him, Malik slowly looked around himself. For the first time, he could see the words forming where the light had been just seconds before, though he had no way of knowing whether they were the ones from his dream.

Four words.

"'Come find me, Malik,'" he read aloud- and that was when the music screeched to a stop and someone screamed.

Malik whipped around to see a man with his hand around Ishizu's arm, dragging her through the crowd. The once-calm group of people had turned into a swirling, angry mob, their dancing looking more like a choreographed fight than anything else. People bumped into him and knocked him halfway across the room in their mad rush, and Malik tried desperately to locate his sister again.

"Ishizu!" he yelled, but before he could so much as move toward her, he felt a vice-like grip on his arm, and he was being yanked around in a dizzying sort of waltz. The woman gripping him winked at him from behind her bright blue cat mask. "Sorry, hun," she said brightly over the noise. "You friend had a previous engagement, so she won't be joining us tonight. She sends her regards, though."

Malik swore and tried to wrench his arm free, but the woman's grip was like iron. He gave up trying to get free and let the woman drag him around the room, using the dance as an opportunity to try and glimpse his compainions through the mess. He spotted a flash of white hair, and caught a glance of Bakura jabbing his elbow into somebody's ribcage, and kicking the man who tried to pull him down. Bakura reached into his back pocket, and Malik was willing to bet anything that he was trying to get to some kind of weapon there. Malik opened his mouth to call out, but his partner suddenly released him, sending Malik tumbling backwards. Before he could get regain his footing, a man in a bright red suit and hat reached out and caught him in a sort of twirl, grinning devilishly. "Watch it," the man said. "If you fall, they usually just ignore you and trample right over you. It's really not pleasant, especially when they're wearing heels."

Malik ignored him, trying to find Bakura again. A group of people had finally managed to lock Bakura's arms to his sides, and Malik watched in horror as they dragged him toward the exit. Bakura noticed Malik staring and caught his eye. Malik saw him shout something, but it was impossible for Malik to hear him over the din, and Bakura was swept away.

Malik realized with a sinking sensation that he was alone.

His attention was drawn forcefully back to the man in front of him when he was dipped down and his head knocked against the floor. Malik glared as he was yanked back up. "Hey, you!" he shouted at his captor. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

The man smiled thinly from behind his mask. "I think that I'm a guy just doing my job, and someone you really shouldn't be so harsh on. It's not my fault that I, that is to say, _we_, belong to Marik." The man's voice was smooth, and there was a hint of sadness in his tone, as well as something Malik couldn't quite place. "We're souls, trapped here, made to do his bidding until someone sets us free," the man continued, adding a theatrical sigh. "It's so incredibly fantastical, yet mundane in its monotony. One would think he could at least think of something else for us to do. You ever try spending decades doing nothing but dancing and eating hors d'eouvres? It's not pleasant." He spun Malik around and dipped him again. "So, are you and your friends here to free us poor, unfortunate souls, or is this your idea of a fun outing?"

"Yes," Malik said, struggling to catch his breath. "I mean, no, we didn't come here to free you, but we are here to beat Marik. Do you think you could help me, if we promised to make sure you get set free?" Malik wasn't exactly sure yet if he could keep that sort of promise, but if it got this man to help him, he was more than willing to bend the truth a bit.

For a split second, Malik was reminded of his days with the Rare Hunters. He's been perfectly happy with "bending the truth" then, too. _Some things never change_, he thought bitterly.

"I see," the man said in way of an answer, bringing Malik back to the present. He pointed above them, where the glowing words still hung.

"There are your instructions. Marik's hiding in here somewhere. You have to find him, beat him, and set us free." The man chuckled. "Of course, I'm not technically supposed to be telling you this, but since you asked nicely..." He jerked Malik around one more time, then handed him off abruptly to someone else. "If you need me, just ask for Julliard." He winked one more time. "You can always find me somewhere!"

"Okay," Malik said, letting himself be dragged away. "And thanks!"

Julliard bowed once, then disappeared into the crowd.

"All right," Malik muttered to himself. "Concentrate. You can find him. Bakura said something about a connection a while ago, back at breakfast. You shared a mind, for fuck's sake. You can do this." Malik took a deep breath and closed his eyes, doing his best to block out the swooshing skirts, the clicking feet, and the hands dragging him forcefully around the room. He searched slowly through his mind, looking for something that could possibly connect him to Marik.

At first, there was nothing. Then, slowly, Malik began to sense something darker, coiling back as if trying to escape his prodding thoughts. Calling on all of the lessons he had learned about thoughts and feelings while using the Millennium Rod, Malik followed it, latching on to the tendrils as they led him through the shadows. Soon, Malik became vaguely aware that as the dark presence became stronger, the sights and sounds of the ballroom became thinner, weaker...

Suddenly, Malik felt something jerk him, hard, and wrenched his eyes open. He was no longer in the ballroom, but standing in another vast room, this one empty.

_Well, at least it's not dark anymore, _Malik thought. The silence felt odd after the chaos of the ballroom, and Malik felt a pang as he realized that Bakura and Ishizu were gone, probably still trapped at the masquerade party. "Great," he muttered. "Now I'm completely alone."

Someone chuckled. "Not quite."

Malik whipped around to see Julliard leaning against the far wall, grinning. He was still wearing his bright red mask, and Malik could see a pair of sharp blue eyes behind it. Pushing himself up, he walked over to stand next to Malik. "That was excellent," he said. "You did that much more quickly than I thought you would."

"How did you get here?" Malik asked, confused.

"I just followed your thoughts," Julliard said. "It was really very simple. I suppose you could call that particular ability one of the perks of being dead."

Perks? _One of_ the perks? Malik made a mental note to ask what the others were and how they might be useful, but for now, he had other things he needed to ask about. "Do you know where Ishizu and Bakura are?"

Julliard sighed. "Well, my fellow prisoners are a bit less, ah, open-minded about Marik than I am. They follow his orders quite diligently, and it seems that my, ah, master has become interested in your friends."

Up until now, Malik had only ever thought of someone's blood running cold in times of terror as an expression. Now, he knew how accurate the description actually was. "So Marik has them?" he forced out.

"Most likely."

"Shit," Malik said. Two more of the people closest to him taken away by Marik.

Julliard said, "I know how to get them back, though."

Malik bit his lip and looked at him distrustfully. Years of working with criminals, lowlifes, and Bakura- who was really both of the above yet in a class all his own- had taught him to never blindly follow anyone he didn't know or who he knew to be a criminal and a lowlife and Bakura. For all he knew, this guy was Marik's closest advisor or something. "No offense or anything, but I've had a lot of people screw me over lately. How do I know this isn't a trap?"

Julliard grinned. "You don't. But, then again, do you have much of a choice?"

"I could call someone else," Malik said, but the idea sounded as stupid when he said it out loud as it had when he'd first thought it. _Who the hell are you going to call?_ asked a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Bakura. _What, you get cell phone reception here now?_

Malik wondered if it was considered redundant to tell himself to shut up.

Judging by his expression, Julliard was thinking something along the same lines as Malik's inner British-bastard voice. "Who on earth could you possibly call from this wasteland?"

"Um..." Malik searched his head for someone he hadn't already thought of trying to contact and came up short. His first choice had been the pharaoh, obviously—that guy saved the world like it was going out of style—but that plan had been shot full of holes by Bakura, who pointed out that world-wide coverage didn't exactly cover the Shadow Realm, and that they couldn't just go talk to him because Marik was blocking all the exits. Not that they had expected Marik to make things easier for them, but they were stranded, with no way out and no way to bring anyone in.

Julliard smiled smugly. "Exactly. Now, is it really that hard for you to trust me?"

"Yes," Malik said automatically.

Julliard sighed. "Look. I hate Marik just as much as you do. It's because of him that I'm stuck here, instead of being able to move on." He scowled. "Marik has a sort of... filter going through the realm of the dead. He picks people up to be his lackeys, and traps them here to do his bidding. It's been in place for years. I suppose we in the ballroom are lucky he's got nothing more diabolical planned for us right now than evenings spent with polite company and an underqualified string orchestrii. Luckily for me, I caught on early and have been devising a plan to get rid of him. Trouble is, I need someone living to help me." He shrugged. "So you see, we'd be helping each other."

Malik thought about him. The man might still be lying about hating Marik, but some of his words were definitely true; he really didn't have many other choices, and he certainly didn't know his way around the Shadow Realm well enough to keep from getting lost. Finally, he sighed. "Okay."

Julliard clapped his hands together gleefully. "Excellent. Now, the real fun begins."

He offered his hand to Malik. "Hold tight, now. We wouldn't want you getting lost." Malik took Julliard's hand, and he closed his eyes as the now-familiar sensation of dissolving took over him.

**Just in case anyone is wondering, Mrs****. Pierce did **_**not **_**completely disappear from this fic. She still has a purpose to fill, don't you worry. I think I've mentioned this before (maybe?) but my original outline for this is... unusable. So, I'm in the middle of redoing it, and while I have a basic idea of what's going to happen, I don't really have anything set in stone, so any suggestions or critique would be very helpful. :)**

**I live on reviews. You wouldn't want to starve me, would you? (Wait, don't answer that.) Really, though, it only takes a minute...**

**Thanks for continuing to read this, everybody.**

**-Eggy**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Figures the day I sit down and hash this out is the day I'm too sick to do anything else. Thank you all so much for your patience. ****Also, in case you hadn't noticed, the writing voice I use for this fic will probably keep on changing every other chapter because of the huge six-month(?)-long gaps between updates. -_- Please bear with me. I am trying. **

**This is mostly dialogue. Sorry. You just have no idea how much fun I have playing with the Shadow Realm. :3 Hopefully, there will be some major ass-kickage in the next chapter. :D**

**Many thanks go out to Emily (**_**HereWeGoOnceMore**_**) for being the greatest beta in existence. She will edit the shit out of your fanfics. O_o**

**Disclaimer: I own Julliard, Mrs. Peirce, and Holly. No one else.**

* * *

When Malik opened his eyes, he saw that Julliard had taken them back to where he and Bakura had started—the room with the souls. Some of them looked uninterestedly up at the new arrivals, but most of the people sitting against the walls continued to stare obliviously into space.

Julliard sighed. "They haven't always been this listless," he said, gesturing to the abandoned people. "I mean, we're in the Shadow Realm, of course—it's not exactly a picnic—but before Marik some of them at least had a _chance_." He shook his head.

"Anyway," he said, "the first thing we need to do is find your friends."

"Can you do that?" Malik asked. "I thought Marik had them."

"Yes, I can, and yes, he does... technically," Julliard said. "Marik tends to deal with his prisoners rather indirectly. On rare occasions, he'll take interest in certain specimens, but your friends are mostly just nuisances to him right now. It might take some time, effort, and guesswork... but getting a hold of the rest of your troupe is quite doable."

"... How _much_ time, effort, and guesswork?"

Julliard shrugged. "Not sure. However, I do think I know someone who can help us."

Malik wasn't at all surprised when Julliard started leading him down corridors. He just sighed and resigned himself to the fact that if he was going to die on this rescue mission, he was probably going to go while trudging down a hallway.

He was surprised when Julliard stopped, looked around, and nodded. "Yes, this seems to be the right spot." Julliard raised his fist and pounded on a door. It was anyone's guess how he told it apart from the many, many, _many_ others there.

"What is this going to accomplish, exactly?" Malik asked.

"Oh, you'll see." Julliard took a deep breath, then started yelling.

"I know you're here somewhere, you miserable old barge!" he called. "Wake up and get out here! I'm not getting any younger, and neither are you!"

"What are you doing?" Malik hissed, grabbing Julliard's sleeve and tugging him away from the door. "Do you want something to come out here and, I don't know, eat us? Last time I was here, it was zombies!"

Julliard rolled his eyes. "You are no fun at all. Don't worry. I use my words in the most affectionate way possible. Really. Anyway, the dear old lady I'm trying to reach is harmless. Unless you're afraid she'll glare you to death." He raised his voice. "I'm still waiting, you old bat! Don't make me get out the wooden stake!"

Something pounded on the other side of the door. A voice yelled, "Keep your hat on, you incorrigible tramp! I'll be there when it best suits me, and don't you forget it!" The voice went on to complain about "the state of today's youth," and "people who couldn't be bothered to let an old lady get a decent night's rest."

Julliard turned to Malik. "I give you: our inside informant." He winced theatrically and added, "Sorry"

The door swung open sharply, and Julliard smiled. "Hello, Mrs. Peirce."

Mrs. Peirce stepped smartly out of her room, smoothing her hair. "Hello, Julliard. Still as imbecilic as ever, I see."

"Charming to the last, madam." He bent down and kissed her hand, which she snatched back.

"Hmph. And what do you want, exactly?"

"Just a bit of help, if it's not _too_ much trouble, you miserable hag."

"We'll see," Mrs. Peirce said haughtily. She peered behind Julliard and noticed Malik.

"Well, it's about time. Really, I expected you to be here quite some time ago. Glad to know you didn't give up."

"I—you—how—what—_you? _Really?"

"Oh, you two know each other?" Julliard said innocently, tipping his head to the side. "How delightful."

Mrs. Peirce snorted. "Oh, hush, you. You planned this from the start." She turned back to Malik, whose jaw was somewhere within the proximity of his knees. "Yes, yes, it's a shock. I suppose that moron didn't tell you anything." She sighed. "Well, come in, then, if you must."

Mrs. Peirce's room turned out to be furnished like a quaint little cottage, complete with flowers on the table and a quilt on the bed in the corner.

"I suppose I should explain some things," she said, "but first, here." She shoved a cup of tea into Malik's hands. "You look like you need it."

Malik considered asking for some sort of really strong alcohol instead, but he downed the tea without complaint.

Mrs. Peirce nodded approvingly. "Right, then. Have a seat."

The three of them sat down around the kitchen table, and Mrs. Peirce looked expectantly at Malik. "Well, go on. I know you're curious."

Malik tried to speak, swallowed, and then tried again. "Okay. Well. This is going to seem like a really obvious question, but why exactly are you in the Shadow Realm?" He glared at Julliard. "And why didn't you tell me?"

Mrs. Peirce folded her hands on top of the table. "First off, I think I should explain that I've known about Holly's... _gifts_since long before she came to live with you. In fact, that's why your sister—yes, Malik, your sister—hired me in the first place." She smiled. "Miss Ishizu was a smart one, no doubt. She was planning on telling you about Holly's abilities on her next visit, but as we both know... well, that didn't happen."

"All right, fine. I can buy that, but it doesn't answer my question. You're not dead, are you?"

"Good gracious, no," Julliard said, sounding alarmed. "I don't know what I'd do if I had to put up with this bat for all eternity."

Mrs. Peirce smacked him on the arm. "Be quiet. No, Malik, I'm not dead," she said primly. "That goodness for that, because then I'd be absolutely no use to you at all."

"Mrs. Peirce happens to be involved in some dubious extracurricular activities," Julliard said.

Mrs. Peirce snorted. "Hardly, you idiot." She looked at Malik. "I happen to have two official titles," she said. "The first, as you know, is professional childcare-giver. The second is professional occultist."

"Professional... occultist."

"Yes." Mrs. Peirce sipped her tea. "You'd be surprised how often the two seem to go together."

Malik put his head in his hands. "I cannot believe this," he said. "You. Of all people."

"When I got your phone call," Mrs. Peirce said, ignoring Malik's disbelief, "I didn't say anything, but I was worried. This one here—" she jabbed a thumb at Julliard—"had been saying things about a war brewing in the Realm having to do with a supernaturally-influenced child, so I decided to check up on the two of you the next day." She raised an eyebrow. "Apparently I was too late. I came here after to see what I could do to help. Marik's been wreaking havoc on this world's organization system, but, well, you saw the souls outside. Someone has to take care of them."

Malik processed this slowly. "But how did you get here?" he asked.

Mrs. Peirce sniffed. "_I_ certainly don't need any ancient Egyptian artifacts to enter the Shadow Realm."

"It doesn't hurt that you have inside connections, huh, darling?" Julliard said.

Mrs. Peirce ignored him. "I have my methods, Malik. Now then. What exactly do you need me to do?"

"Marik's got Bakura and Ishizu, as well as Holly and Ryou," Julliard told her. "We need help locating them."

"Ishizu's here? Well, I suppose it makes sense, since Marik is obviously after Holly. And what about the other two? How did they get caught up in this mess?"

"They're helping me rescue Holly," Malik said defensively.

Mrs. Peirce waved him off. "Yes, yes, all right. There's no need to get angry. However, I'm afraid I can't be of any use when it comes to locating your sister and the child. Marik's hiding them himself, and his magic is much stronger than mine at the moment."

"Yes, I figured that," Julliard said. "What about the other two?"

Mrs. Peirce pursed her lips. "Well, I suppose it can't hurt to try." She sighed. "Very well. I'll do my best."

She stood up and motioned for Malik and Julliard to do the same. "Now, I'm going to need both of you to do a few things for me." She gestured to a battered chest in the corner. "Malik, I need you to rummage around in there until you find an old crystal ball. Yes, people use those, don't make that face at me." She pointed at Julliard. "And you. Go stand in that corner over there. It's bad enough that I'm going to be tracking down one ghost. I don't need your presence getting in the way as well. Oh, thank you, Malik, you can set that on the table."

"You know, Bakura's dead as well," Malik murmured, studying the crystal ball as Julliard went to stand obediently next to the bed. "Ancient Egyptian spirit, and all that."

"Yes, well, Bakura's at least still tied to the living realm with that Ring of his. Ishizu's only here of her own free will. Of course, she won't let herself leave because of Holly, but her presence is still fleeting here. Ghosts tend to blend into the Realm. It makes them quite hard to keep track of." She took the crystal out of Malik's hand and set it up on an ancient-looking stand in the middle of the table. "Now, I'm going to need you to take my hand; it'll make this much easier."

"Why?" Malik asked, offering up his hand.

"Because you're connected to both of them, in some way." She looked at Malik quizzically. "You've been through quite a lot with Bakura, haven't you?"

Malik shifted uncomfortably. "It was a long time ago. Trust me, it doesn't bear talking about."

"Never mind," Mrs. Peirce said. "I'm not sure I want to know what things you got up to with that boy." She closed her eyes and placed one hand on top of the crystal.

She stood like that for several minutes. Just as Malik was beginning to grow uncomfortable, she snapped her eyes open and bent down to peer at the crystal ball.

"I've got it. Come here, Julliard."

"Finally. I thought you'd forgotten about me."

"As much as I may try, I don't think I'll ever forget _you._"

Julliard and Malik both peered over her shoulder.

"I don't see anything," Malik said. Indeed, the crystal looked exactly as it had when he had taken it out of the chest.

Julliard, however, nodded. "Yes, I know the place." He made a face. "Decidedly unpleasant, but aren't they always?"

"How come you can see it and I can't?" Malik asked.

"Dead, remember?" Julliard said. "One more of the perks offered as incentive to shuffle off this mortal coil."

"All right, you have your location. Now get out of my house, you scoundrel," Mrs. Peirce said. "Malik, dear, do come back and visit some time."

Julliard beamed at her. "Thank you so much for your assistance, dearest," he said, bowing low. "It means so much, we're forever in your debt, _et cetera, et cetera._ I bid you _adieu._"

Malik started to follow him out the door, but Mrs. Peirce stopped him. "Before you go," she said, pressing something into his hand, "take this."

Malik looked down at the little charm she had handed him. It was nothing fancy, resembling a small coin, but he could feel its power.

"It's not a Millennium Item," Mrs. Peirce said, "but it may help in a pinch."

Malik smiled at her. "Thanks."

"Oh, and Malik?"

"Yes?"

"When you see Ishizu and Holly, tell them hello for me, will you?"

"Of course."

"And don't let Julliard do too much of anything. It gets to his head."

Malik laughed. "Okay, I'll try. Bye, Mrs. Peirce, and thanks for your help."

"You're welcome. But I expect a raise for this one."

"If we make it out of this alive, you mean."

"Of course."

Julliard was waiting for Malik outside. "She gave you one of her trinkets, didn't she?" He shook his head. "Entirely useless. You might as well just throw it out."

"Hm," Malik said, but he tucked the coin into his pocket anyway. Julliard just rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself. Now. Marik has your friends holed up in some godforsaken prison

cell somewhere in the depths of the Shadows. Are you up for a little road trip?"

"Do I have much of a choice?"

"Not really, no," Julliard said cheerfully. He pulled a large map out of somewhere and studied it quizzically. Malik peered over his shoulder. It was completely blank.

"Great," Julliard said. "You and I are here—" he pointed to a corner—"Marik is here—" he pointed to another corner—"and your friends are in the middle. Simple enough?"

Malik pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of all the people I could get as guides, they gave me the crazy one."

"Crazy is a relative concept, Malik," Julliard said, putting away his map. "Now, I can't just magic us to the prison where your friends are being held. It would be much too obvious, and we'd be too easily tracked."

"Why?"

"Because Marik's controlling all the entrances, remember? Normally, ghosts don't move around nearly as much as I've been doing lately. We generally stay in the same place. It's how they found you—by tracking Ishizu's movements. I can get away with some extra travelling because I'm... _known_ for breaking rules. However, pretty soon they're going to start to notice, and I don't think it's a good idea to have Marik's people keeping tabs on us just before we attempt a mass breakout."

"So it's more walking?"

Julliard clapped him on the back. "Don't sound so glum. It's good for you."

"Says someone who doesn't even have a physical body."

"Don't be jealous."

As they started to walk—Julliard seemed to know the way—Malik asked, "Do you even actually have a plan to defeat Marik, or are you just making this up as we go along?"

"Oh, I have a plan, all right, but... well, for it to make sense to you, you're going to need a slightly deeper understanding of how the Shadow Realm works."

"I know the basics," Malik said, thinking of his Rod. "I know that it powers the Items, and I know that it's possible to use the Shadows to control things like people and card games. Its power was first tapped by the people who created the Items, right?"

"Technically, yes, but it's been around much longer than that. Hm... let me think. How can I put this in terms you'll understand?" He frowned. "Well... think of the Shadow Realm as an electrical power plant."

"A _what_?"

"It's a crude analogy, I know. Bear with me. Anyway, the Realm is your power plant. And everyone outside the power plant—we'll say the Item bearers, for your convenience— are the consumers using the electricity produced to power their homes. Also known as your Millennium Items. It's one big, uncontained world of energy that can be tapped... but only for a limited time."

"What about people like you, who are... you know..."

"Dead?"

"Well, yes."

"We, the ghosts and the monsters and the trapped souls, _et al_, are the people inside the power plant—the employees who produce the energy, yes, but also the janitors and the independent consultants and the school groups on field trips. We're still limited as to how much energy we can use, like you, but... we get a bit of a discount. It's one of the—"

"Perks, yeah, I get it."

Julliard beamed. "You're catching on quite quickly."

"Okay... so let's say I'm playing a game of Duel Monsters. If I want to instigate a Shadow Game..."

"Then you would use something like one of the Millennium Items to siphon the power from the Realm into your game. Almost like opening up a door."

Malik remembered the "window" that Marik had left him and Bakura so that they could come find Holly. "Right. But Marik isn't using the door, is he?"

"Exactly. Marik... well, he pretty much smashed down the metaphorical door and the entire metaphorical wall with it."

"Which means he has unlimited power."

"Pretty much."

"Great," Malik said. "So he's basically got the complete upper hand."

"Not quite," Julliard said, wagging a finger. "Anyone with an Item and a fair amount of competence can borrow energy from the Shadow Realm. Marik, however, is currently _controlling_ the Shadow Realm. He's not just utilizing its resources: he's monopolizing them. And that's our ticket. The Shadow Realm doesn't _like_ to be controlled, Malik. What Marik is doing is like taking a giant, untrained tiger, tying it up with rope, and telling it to dance. It just doesn't work. Eventually, those ropes are going to snap."

Malik nodded slowly. "And you and I..."

"Are going to cut those ropes right in half."

"To turn the Shadows against him."

Julliard laughed gleefully. "You're very good at this. I'd almost think you had practice."

"Yeah, well, you wouldn't be wrong. So, how do you propose we get Marik's plan to backfire?"

"That's where you come in," Julliard said. "We're going to need some Items."

Malik frowned. "Then why can't you just take the Rod from Marik? What do you need me for?"

"Unfortunately for me," Julliard said, "ghosts can't use the Items. At least, not in this world. The Items use the energy from the Shadow Realm to work their magic. I am essentially part of the Shadow Realm; all the Rod would do is drain me." He poked Malik's arm. "_That's_ why I need you."

"Why don't we just use Bakura's Ring, then?"

"Because then it would be Item against Item in a situation where Marik would have the upper hand. No, what we need to do first is get your Rod back."

"Great," Malik said, although he wasn't feeling it.

"Yeah, I know, you'd hoped to be rid of it, never have to see it again, yadda yadda," Julliard said. "Face it, Malik; you and that thing are connected. You're just going to have to get used to it."

Malik grimaced. "Well then, the sooner we get this over with, the better. Are we on the right track?"

"Almost certainly not. But then again, we are in the Shadow Realm. Is one ever on any track?"

Malik couldn't quite think of a response to that one.


End file.
